Originally posted by MARIO DAVILA:
Do you think that a java application whit hibernate would have a good performance against Cobol?
That is a difficult question to answer. However it is likely that the Cobol implementation could out-perform the Java/Hibernate combination. But even if that us is true - it still would be difficult to predict how much slower the Java/Hibernate combo actually would be. This is also heavily influenced by how good the designs of the both the Cobol and Java/Hibernate implementations are.
The only way to find out is to select a processing and I/O intensive sub-function of the existing implementation and to implement it in Java/Hibernate and compare the respective performances.
However performance is only one dimension of any solution. Java/Hibernate has the added advantage that it is much easier to move to
TDD - eventually all your code will be under automated
unit test, so that any future changes are easier and can be made with more confidence.
Java also creates the opportunity to create a
Domain Model, if the business domain that the batch is working on is particularly complex.
Code written against domain model objects tends to express the business process and rules directly rather than burying them deep inside of low level code. A Domain Model that is well matched with the business domain also tends to easier to adapt to changing business needs.
So even if Cobol performs (slightly) better there are still plenty of good reasons to go the Java/Hibernate route (provided the potential is exploited appropriately).